Reflections of a Lighthouse Keeper’s Daughter
In early June of this year, we had the pleasure of visiting with Pamela Catalina Villanueva. She had the incredible experience of living here at the Kīlauea Point Light Station, as it was then known and prior to becoming a national wildlife refuge, from 1960 to 1964 when her father Mosman Villanueva served as Boatswain’s Mate 1, U.S. Coast Guard Officer in Charge of the Kīlauea Point Light Station.
Pam’s father and his parents were from Kealia and they lived and worked in the sugar cane town. As an adult, he served in the Coast Guard for 20 years and retired as Chief Boatswain’s Mate, the executive officer on the latter ships on which he was stationed.
Pam shared with us some of her experiences living here in one of the historic lighthouse keeper’s quarters, along with her parents and 5 brothers and 1 sister, and her reflections of her father’s impressive career.
Pam’s Reflections:
The spelling of Dad’s name was incorrectly recorded by the USCG when he enlisted. It should have been Mossman Villanueva.
The Coast Guard transferred my father to Alameda, CA, and our family lived in Fremont, CA, then Astoria OR, then Brooklyn Park, MD, then Elma, NY, then Glen Burnie, MD, and then back to Kauaʻi.
We had a normal family life, albeit a large family in that small home by today’s standards. It was homework for the older boys and playing outside for all. I can say that my grandparents, who still lived in Kealia, were very proud to have their son in charge of the lighthouse.
My brother, Bill, shared a story about a time that my parents attended a social event held by the Sugar Plantation Manager. Apparently, the invitees were those who held positions of note such as the head lighthouse keeper, mayors, school administrators, business owners, etc. The Kapaʻa school principal was invited to a one such event to which my parents were also in attendance. The principal expressed surprise when she saw my father, who was a previous student at her school. She was surprised that he would have achieved such an important position. I can’t be sure if the surprise was due to a local boy being the lighthouse keeper or if it was simply a reflection of my father’s school performance and/or behavior. :-)
Bill also shared that, while I didn’t recall the front porch being enclosed, it was actually enclosed at my father’s request to provide another bedroom for the older boys, as seven children were stacked into the two bedrooms.
Most of my memories seem to be the normal childhood memories. Playing with siblings, visiting grandma and grandpa or weekends in Kealia, having picnics at the beach. I don’t remember learning how to swim, but my mother told me that when I was just over a year old, Dad took me into the ocean at Kealia and let me go. I swam from that point on, which is why I don’t remember learning. That story was memorable as my mother was panicked on the beach because she was the only one in the family that never learned how to swim.
Although as a child I didn’t have a sense of how special it was to live at the lighthouse, I now recognize the incredible opportunity we were given and how proud I am that my father was the head lighthouse keeper at one of the oldest lights of its kind.
Sometimes my youthful memories of Hawaiʻi are like a scene from an old movie. My father would play an ukulele and I would hula (not anymore - ha).
I can also recall my father handcrafting a throw-net for fishing. It is truly wonderful to recall how he would take than net, thrown over his shoulder, then twist and throw the net. It would magically expand fully then drop evenly into the ocean water. I would then sit with Dad for several minutes on the beach until he knew it was time. Then he would wade into the water to grab the net. Amazingly, the net would be folded over full of fish. Often Dad would have a bucket with putty knives and send us off to the rocks at the water line to scrap ʻopihi while waiting for him to pull in the net.
The lighthouse was a tourist attraction then as it is now. Tour buses would arrive and often would stop at our house to ask questions or photograph the kids. That was when I would hula for the tourists.
Pam’s brother, Jeff, visited the Refuge and Lighthouse in 2018. As kids, they were not able to enter the Lighthouse. However, now as an adult, he was given the special honor of turning on the light for that year’s annual Lighthouse Day celebration.
When Pam visited with us, we located a spot on the back porch of the lighthouse keeper’s quarters in which she and her family lived, where she recalled adding her name in fresh cement on October 4, 1963.
A final note from Pam on her recent trip to Kīlauea Point NWR:
The Lighthouse trip was especially exciting as I travelled with friends, Barb and Dara, from the mainland and was able to share not just the beauty of the lighthouse but a sense of what it was like to live at the Lighthouse and the meaningful role my father played in its history.
The attention and guidance from the Director of the Friends Group, Thomas Daubert, and the FWS Visitor Services Manager, Jennifer Waipa, was both honoring and flattering as I feel that they have each connected to the spirit and history of the Lighthouse in ways that can only be experienced, not described. My Father would be very proud of the continued care by those who feel as deeply for the site as he always did.
See full photo captions listed below.
(15) Lighthouse Video Circa 1962
If you have trouble viewing the video (above), click HERE to view it on YouTube.
Photo Captions:
(1) Mosman Villanueva: This shows my father's humble beginnings. As a teen he worked picking pineapples. This would likely be mid-late 40's.
(2) Mosman Villanueva: This is the photo of Dad sitting at the front porch of the house at Kīlauea, probably in 1961.
(3) Kīlauea Light Station: This is the front cover of the Lighthouse's 50th Anniversary brochure, in 1963.
(4) Kīlauea Light Station: one of the 50th Anniversary brochure pages.
(5) Kīlauea Light Station: another of the 50th Anniversary brochure pages.
(6) Pam Kīlauea November 1962: There I am in front of our house at Kīlauea in my hula skirt.
(7) Bill & Pam at Lighthouse May 1963: My older brother, Bill Byrd, and I pointing at red-footed boobies. You can see the nesting birds with the part of the lighthouse in the background.
(8) Bill & Pam at Lighthouse May 1963: Again, my brother Bill and I looking at the red-footed boobies. This picture shows the full lighthouse in the background
(9) Mosman Villanueva: This photo was taken in 1968 and shows my father in uniform as Chief Boatswains Mate. This is important because when Dad joined the USCG, Filipinos could only be stewards, generally kitchen staff. Although the military was directed to desegregate in 1948, Filipino personnel were the last group to be fully integrated. Throughout my childhood, I recall periods of seeing my father studying various subjects to take the test for the next military level. Joining the Coast Guard as a Steward in 1952, transitioning to Boatswain Mate in circa 1958, and then to Chief Boatswain in 1964, was a tremendous achievement and a testament to my father's drive and commitment to the USCG. He retired from the USCG after 20 years in 1972. Dad was an exceptional sailor, a spectacular father, and a most honorable man.
(10) Fishing Net: I finally pulled the net from storage and draped it from a tree in the backyard so you could see it. My father sewed this net when we were living at the lighthouse and used it in the cove behind our house.
(11) Pam and her father visit the Lighthouse in June 2007.
(12) Pam visits the spot on the back porch with her name inscribed in the cement on October 4, 1963.
(13) A close-up of her name in the cement.
(14) Pam in front of the lighthouse keeper's quarters she lived in.
(15) Lighthouse video circa 1962: I was able to cut 1 min of an old 8mm film to show only the birds at the lighthouse.
